An Analytic Adventure
by Fati Sasspants
Summary: 3 and 4 venture out to inspect something 4 found earlier, and find something they've never seen before. What is it, and how many of them used to populate the planet, before the machines?


**_This is my first story for this fandom. I've been toying around with the idea for ages, but I think it's as done as I can make it. I tried to twist things around for the plot to make sense, so, this is set in the past, sometime before 9 awakens. Also, both the twins are male in this. If anyone spots any errors, please let me know._**

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** It was midmorning, and everyone was occupied with their own matters. The perfect time to read, 3 decided, rolling an empty spool of thread in front of the giant, propped up book. He loved books, they were a great way to lose ones self for a couple of hours. He only regretted that most of the books had been destroyed. Occasionally, though, they would find one or two that had not been too badly damaged.

He sat reading for quite some time, absently listening to 6's humming, or 8's barrel-chested laughs coming from another room. As he heard the patter of feet coming towards him, he did not bother to tear his attention away from the words, assuming it to be 6, who would often come show him his drawings. Instead, 4 bolted at him out of the shadows, and shook his shoulder violently, his eyes flashing excitedly.

_Come. _

3 allowed himself to be tugged away from the book, and lead to the window. He blinked, expressing his confusion in a series of clicks that 4 ignored, nudging him towards the ledge. He pushed the shutters apart slightly, and motioned for 3 to look. 3 did as he was instructed, his confusion increasing-and then he saw it. He spotted and locked on to something that had not been there before; a dark shape, merely a dot on the yellow-orange landscape, littered with the crumbling ruins of buildings and rusted, decaying automobiles.

He turned to 4 for an explanation, but 4 offered none, grabbing his hand and pulling him off.

_What is it? _

4 shrugged enthusiastically.

3 tilted his head, glancing over his shoulder at the window.

Perhaps it was something they could use. 2 and 5 were always talking about needing an extra this or an extra that, or wanting more parts to tinker with. Then again, it could also be the beast, playing tricks to try to lure them out. Fighting the urge to let himself be carried away with 'what if's', 3 sadly shook his head.

A war of clicks, blinks, and flashes raged between the two; brother battling brother.

_Click, click. Click, click. Flash. Click, flash. _

3, tired of arguing, made a final plea: _Stay. Not safe._

4 looked almost betrayed.

Though they were twins, made similarly, and with similar interests, they were not the same. They would occasionally disagree. They shared the same thirst for knowledge, but 4's thirst sometimes blinded him to the possible danger around him, just as 3's sometimes held him back. The information between them was always shared, but there was something different, something less satisfying about receiving second hand information, verses inspecting and cataloging with ones own eyes.

4 stayed long enough to try to convince his brother a second time, but 3 would not be swayed. And so he left.

3 watched in a mixture of anxiety and growing frustration as his brother ran off and vanished. He couldn't imagine tattling to 1. Not only would 4 be annoyed with him, but both of them would have to sit through another lecture about The Emptiness and the beast, and how they should want nothing to do with any of it.

3 rushed to the window again, quickly spotting 4 amongst a heavily cracked cinderblock. Against his better judgment, he hurried off to join his brother._  
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3 Gradually got over his fear of being exposed, though he remained watchful as he followed 4 through the maze of refuse. He tripped over a loose bolt and at nearly the same time heard a low, guttural moan that stopped them dead in their tracks.

4 looked back.

_Click, click, click. Flash. Click. _

_There. Ahead. _

3 trembled and shook his head, not daring to communicate back for fear of being heard.

4 crept forward, careful not to brush up against anything, as another moan sounded. This one sounded different, somehow. Less threatening, and more pitiful. As 3's expression softened, he followed after his brother, who was now stooped low a few feet away from...

He approached 4, taking him gently by the shoulder and turning him so that they were facing each other.

4 shook his head slowly, awestruck.

When the initial fear had worn off, the two took to rotating around the thing, inspecting, recording, swapping and overwriting information with passing glances.

_Flash, flash, flash, click, blink. Click, click, flash. _

_Height: 8.4 inches._

_Color: Brown-beige._

_Metal: negative._

_Burlap: negative._

_Substance: unknown._

_Legs: 4, claws. _

_Nose: Black. Moist. _

_Approximately 5 small... things...protruding from the snout area on each side. Purpose: Uncertain._

_Ears: 2, pointed. Better hearing(?)_

_Eyes: 2. Round. Reacts to light._

_Mouth: Teeth. Many, sharp, pointed, white. _

_Extra features: long protrusion from the hindquarters, flexible. Balance?Danger? Unsure._

_ Click, click, flash, click. Processing. Searching. Click, flash, click, click, click._

_Similar findings previously catalogued: none. _

Both glanced up, sharing the same question.

_If not the beast, then what?_

It was not a human, of that they were certain.

Suddenly, 3 found himself with an answer, and quickly got 4's attention. He communicated the word: animal and 4 thought it over himself, then nodded excitedly. They had never really seen an animal, but what else could it be? It certainly wasn't a plant; that they had seen drawings of in a book.

They had only ever seen the beast and each other before, and this thing did not match up to anything they had ever catalogued before. Yet it did not seem as threatening as it had only moments before. If anything, there was an alluring quality to it, one that made 3 want to reach out and touch it. He saw their reflection in the thing's eyes, much different from their own, and found himself being drawn towards it. He was so distracted that he hardly saw how the thing was struggling to breathe, drawing in shallow, ragged breaths through its mouth and nose.

They became aware of a low rumbling sound, similar to the hum of a machine engine, and, reminded of being out in the open, unprotected, both brothers quickly covered their heads and ducked. Upon further inspection, they realized the sound was coming from the thing, and seeing as it had not moved more than an inch since discovering it, "Unsure" was overwritten as "safe", and they advanced.

The thing stretched its front leg out, as if trying to grasp one of them. Even as it showed and retracted its claws, 3 no longer felt afraid.

4 placed his hand against it, his head quickly snapping up. He eyes flashed urgently.

_No time left. _

3 shuffled closer to the big, dark eyes, and placed a hand on its forehead, watching an ear flicker in response. Together they watched the energy drain from the thing's eyes. They knew that even if this thing wasn't the beast, 1 would never even so much as entertain the idea of sending the others to help bring it back with them. Besides, 4 was right. Whatever it was only had minutes left. It let out a long, tortured yowl, and dropped its head.

He couldn't explain it, but there was a heavy feeling about him as he watched the thing die, a feeling he'd felt before but could never put a name to. It troubled him, and a look up in his brother's direction told him he was feeling the same thing.

In the distance, something clanked and clattered and let loose a chilling, mechanic shriek.

3 and 4 watched as the thing became still and its eyes glazed over, and then regretfully retreated to the cathedral, panic fresh in their minds. They were only a few feet from the sanctuary when they heard something approaching, and ducked behind a pile of rubble. The ground rumbled softly, alerting them that something big would soon be near. As they began to inch out of their hiding spots, a heavy hand clasped each of them on the shoulder and yanked them back.

"What are you doing out here?" 7 whispered harshly, pulling the hollowed bird skull up off her eyes. She frowned at them, but they were busy dancing on the tips of their toes, rotating around her, taking in her headgear. "Hey. I'm talking to you two! What do you think you're doing? If 1 knew you were out here-"

Eagerly, 4 pointed to 7's headgear, then pointed off in the direction they had come from. 7 paused."What? I don't understand."

3, fiddling with his hands nervously like a child being scolded, displayed an image of the thing on the side of a tin can. 7 stepped closer, taking a good look at the picture. "You saw thi-" she paused, poking her head out of hiding, spotting the thing. "Wow. I've never seen one before."

4 nodded, bracing his brother as the image died from the side of the tin can, and awareness flooded his system again.

"Is it hurt?"

4 tilted his head down solemnly.

"Oh," she said quietly.

When 3 was stable again, 4 pointed again to her skullmet. 7 squinted her eyes thoughtfully for a long while, but reluctantly removed it from her head and held it out for the two of them to look at. They took to scanning it, as well, and she smiled, despite their current situation.

"This used to be alive, too," she told them.

The twins huddled together, sharing thoughts and information on the subject, and then turned to her.

"You've never seen one of these, have you?" 3 shook his head.

7 sighed. "There were still a few left, around the time when we found you. They flew, up there in the sky," she gestured to the sky majestically, and both sets of eyes followed her motions. "I don't really know what it was, though. 2 told us it wasn't like the machines."

The only thing 3 could remember ever seeing in the sky was definitely not beautiful; it was deadly, and terrifying. But neither he nor 4 interrupted her.

"But they're all gone now," she finished quietly, placing the bird skull back on her head. She pushed them both gently toward the sanctuary. "And we should be gone, too. 1 is going to be furious with you two."

As they headed back, 3 reviewed everything he had learned. He wanted to put a name to the thing they had seen. He wanted to know more about 'alive' and 'dead', and he wanted to know if they, too, could experience these things. He had a feeling, and he was sure that his brother did as well, that they were destined to do more than just exist and hide, no matter what 1 said. Maybe he would talk to 6 about it- he seemed to think the same, though 1 had silenced him, as well.

Despite putting himself in danger, 3 was glad he had come out exploring with his brother. He felt satisfied that this time, he would not receive the information second hand. And one day, perhaps, he would have so much knowledge that he could save the Earth, and revive the human population (even if 1 would say it was a bad idea, and he could see why, the thought still grabbed him). He could only begin to imagine the things he could learn about them. After all, he reasoned, if they wrote the books he and his brother read, they couldn't be all bad.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was a strange feeling building up within him. Anxiety didn't sound right. The closer he got to the sanctuary, the more a certain word nagged at the back of his mind. He stepped foot inside when it came to him, leaving a comforting but exciting feeling: yearning.


End file.
